Enabling Iraqis to Rebuild Iraq

CHF International began working in Iraq in June 2003, just two months after the end of Saddam Hussein’s government. The Iraqi people were facing a host of challenges in rebuilding the political, social, and economic institutions of their society in recovering from years of conflict.

Community Action Program (CAP)

At the request of USAID, CHF began working in three governorates (provinces) in southern and central Iraq on the Community Action Program (CAP). The goal of CAP is to strengthen local governments so that they can more effectively prioritize, plan and implement projects based on the communities’ needs.

Access to Credit Services Initiative (ACSI)

Owners of small to medium-sized enterprises and home-owners had traditionally been excluded from mainstream loans and other services, and had to turn to local moneylenders who often charged prohibitively high interest rates. With the aim of stimulating the Iraqi economy, CHF International created the Access to Credit Services Initiative (ACSI), a major development finance program that provides loans to Iraqi entrepreneurs and home-owners to expand their businesses or improve their living conditions.

Iraq Middle Market Development Foundation (IMMDF)

In 2004, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) saw a market gap in the finance industry in Iraq. Middle Market Enterprises—companies larger than small to medium enterprise (SME)—were also being excluded from traditional loans and were hitting a glass ceiling. As a result, CHF International and OPIC set up the Iraq Middle Market Development Foundation (IMMDF) to provide loans of up to $5,000,000 to growing enterprises that showed promise in the recovering Iraqi economy.